Tennis-Rybakina swats aside Sakkari to reach Wimbledon third round
LONDON (Reuters) -Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina barely needed to shift out of second gear as the 11th seed motored into the third round of the grasscourt Grand Slam with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Greek Maria Sakkari on Thursday.
Rybakina was gifted a break in the opening game when Sakkari produced three successive double faults and the 2022 Wimbledon champion held firm from there to wrap up the opening set with minimum fuss in front of a sparse crowd on Court One.
The 26-year-old dropped her serve in the opening game of the next set but responded immediately to get things back on track and then broke to love for a 3-1 lead, before proceeding to take apart former world number three Sakkari.
A backhand error on match point compounded Sakkari's woes and Rybakina celebrated the victory in typically muted fashion, with either Denmark's 23rd-seeded Clara Tauson or Russian Anna Kalinskaya awaiting her in the next round.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
21 minutes ago
- The Star
Cricket-Australia's Green hopes half-century against West Indies can be turning point
(Reuters) -Australia batter Cameron Green hopes his vital half-century on day three of the second test against the West Indies in Grenada can turn around a poor run of form and cement his spot in the top order. Green was promoted to bat at number three for last month's World Test Championship final, his first test in more than a year, but scored only four runs and faced just five balls as Australia were beaten by South Africa. Despite failing to impress, he retained his position for the three-test series against the West Indies, with captain Pat Cummins saying he viewed the 26-year-old all-rounder as a long-term option in the slot. Green had another underwhelming display in Australia's 159-run win in the first test, scoring 18 runs, but contributed 52 on Saturday and combined with Steve Smith for a crucial 93-run partnership that gave the visitors the upper hand in the second match. "You always need innings here and there just to get you back and get you going, hopefully today was certainly one of those. A lot of good things I can get out of just spending time in the middle," Green told reporters. "I think the balls faced has been trending up. The runs haven't been there, but there's certainly little positives I can take out of it. Hopefully, my output can be a little bit better than it has been, but today was a nice sign that things are hopefully trending well. "You all know when you're playing that there's runs that need to be made, certainly when you're batting up the order for Australia. It's a tough game, so being able to bounce back from tough times is equally as important." Australia ended day three on 221/7 with a commanding 254-run lead heading into the final two days of the match, and will look to set an even more daunting target when play resumes later on Sunday. (Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
The Sun
36 minutes ago
- The Sun
Alcaraz vs Rublev, Sabalenka Eyes Wimbledon Glory
CARLOS Alcaraz's charge towards a third consecutive Wimbledon crown faces a tricky test against volatile Russian Andrey Rublev on Sunday. World number one Aryna Sabalenka is the big favourite for the women's title ahead of her meeting against Elise Mertens, while British hopes now lie in the hands of Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie. AFP Sport looks at the matches to watch on day seven of the tournament at the All England Club: Win or lose 'in the right way' for Rublev Alcaraz has yet to hit top gear in south-west London after dropping three sets in his three matches en route to round four. Yet, Rublev is aware he has to be at the top of his game to cause an almighty upset and break his curse of never progressing beyond a Grand Slam quarter-final. The world number 14 has reached the last eight on 10 occasions without ever making it to a semi-final. 'You cannot show any weaknesses,' said Rublev on the challenge of facing Alcaraz. Rublev has already enjoyed a much happier time at Wimbledon than 12 months ago when he repeatedly smashed his racquet over his own leg during a shock first-round exit. But he has credited the influence of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, himself a notorious hothead in his prime, for bringing some calm to his game. 'There are two options,' he added. 'Try to go deeper. Or if I lose, to lose it in a mature, adult way. 'That would be success as well, to lose it in the right way.' Pressure-proof Sabalenka a 'new person' Sabalenka is the only woman left standing of the top six seeds, and is keen to make up for lost time at the All England Club. The three-time Grand Slam champion missed last year's Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury and was excluded in 2022 as part of a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. Sabalenka overcame a stern test of her tennis and temperament to end British favourite Emma Raducanu's run in the third round in arguably the match of the tournament so far. After losing control of her emotions in defeat to Coco Gauff in the French Open final last month, the Belarusian said she feels like a 'different person'. She added: 'Whatever happens on the court, you just have to be respectful, you have to be calm, and you just have to keep trying and keep fighting. 'I was just reminding myself that I'm strong enough, and I can handle this pressure.' Kartal enjoying the spotlight After the exits of Raducanu and world number four Jack Draper, Kartal and Norrie are tasked with maintaining British interest. South Africa-born Norrie, a Wimbledon semi-finalist three years ago, will fancy his chances of progressing against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry. Kartal, meanwhile, is enjoying the spotlight after reaching her first ever Grand Slam fourth round, where she will face Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. 'I enjoy it. I think it's an honour. Obviously you've got a lot of attention on you, it means you're doing good things,' said the 23-year-old. 'I feel like I'm going to go out on the court in the next round kind of with nothing to lose at the minute. I'm going to go swinging,' she added.-AFP
The Sun
40 minutes ago
- The Sun
Alcaraz faces reformed Rublev as Sabalenka eyes Wimbledon glory
CARLOS Alcaraz's charge towards a third consecutive Wimbledon crown faces a tricky test against volatile Russian Andrey Rublev on Sunday. World number one Aryna Sabalenka is the big favourite for the women's title ahead of her meeting against Elise Mertens, while British hopes now lie in the hands of Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie. AFP Sport looks at the matches to watch on day seven of the tournament at the All England Club: Win or lose 'in the right way' for Rublev Alcaraz has yet to hit top gear in south-west London after dropping three sets in his three matches en route to round four. Yet, Rublev is aware he has to be at the top of his game to cause an almighty upset and break his curse of never progressing beyond a Grand Slam quarter-final. The world number 14 has reached the last eight on 10 occasions without ever making it to a semi-final. 'You cannot show any weaknesses,' said Rublev on the challenge of facing Alcaraz. Rublev has already enjoyed a much happier time at Wimbledon than 12 months ago when he repeatedly smashed his racquet over his own leg during a shock first-round exit. But he has credited the influence of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, himself a notorious hothead in his prime, for bringing some calm to his game. 'There are two options,' he added. 'Try to go deeper. Or if I lose, to lose it in a mature, adult way. 'That would be success as well, to lose it in the right way.' Pressure-proof Sabalenka a 'new person' Sabalenka is the only woman left standing of the top six seeds, and is keen to make up for lost time at the All England Club. The three-time Grand Slam champion missed last year's Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury and was excluded in 2022 as part of a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. Sabalenka overcame a stern test of her tennis and temperament to end British favourite Emma Raducanu's run in the third round in arguably the match of the tournament so far. After losing control of her emotions in defeat to Coco Gauff in the French Open final last month, the Belarusian said she feels like a 'different person'. She added: 'Whatever happens on the court, you just have to be respectful, you have to be calm, and you just have to keep trying and keep fighting. 'I was just reminding myself that I'm strong enough, and I can handle this pressure.' Kartal enjoying the spotlight After the exits of Raducanu and world number four Jack Draper, Kartal and Norrie are tasked with maintaining British interest. South Africa-born Norrie, a Wimbledon semi-finalist three years ago, will fancy his chances of progressing against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry. Kartal, meanwhile, is enjoying the spotlight after reaching her first ever Grand Slam fourth round, where she will face Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. 'I enjoy it. I think it's an honour. Obviously you've got a lot of attention on you, it means you're doing good things,' said the 23-year-old. 'I feel like I'm going to go out on the court in the next round kind of with nothing to lose at the minute. I'm going to go swinging,' she added.-AFP
